Preparing Series Information Product
Manuscripts With the Manuscript
Template (Version 3.5.1.3)
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
What’s New in the Series Information Product Manuscript Template
(Version 3.5.1.3)
• The name of the new Secretary of the Department of the Interior has replaced that of the
former Secretary on the back of the title page.
Preparing Series Information Product Manuscripts With
the Manuscript Template (Version 3.5.1.3)
Why Use Templates?
Preparing a manuscript is a critical step in the production of a USGS series information product. Series information
product manuscripts are drafts that are prepared by authors
using word-processing software. After Bureau approval,
a series information product manuscript will typically be
prepared for commercial printing using page layout software
such as Adobe InDesign. If you prepared the manuscript file
properly, then it can be easily imported into the page layout
application, thus saving time and money during final layout
production. If you didn’t prepare the manuscript file with the
proper template and techniques, then the layout will probably
take more time to produce, and it may be more prone to errors.
Templates can help you produce manuscript files that are more
consistently formatted than those produced without a template.
Installing the Manuscript Template
The method of template installation varies between host
operating systems and the various versions of MS Word.
Consult the MS Word application Help files for installation
instructions or the installation instructions at http://internal.
usgs.gov/publishing/toolboxes/mswordtemplates.html.
Using the Manuscript Template
Use the manuscript template to prepare text for a draft
manuscript. The manuscript that you prepare with the template
should be used for all review stages through Bureau approval.
The final, corrected manuscript file for series products, other
than Open-File and administrative reports, will be given to
publications support staff, along with any graphic files and
additional tables, for final layout preparation.
The manuscript template, which is called Manuscript.
dotx, consists of a single MS Word template file. Note that
the .dotx suffix is used in the filename, indicating that this
is a template, not a standard document file. Save your working manuscript file as a document with the .docx suffix,
leaving the template file intact and ready to use to start your
next report.
Note that the template files contain dummy or boilerplate
text. You may delete this text from the new document that you
have created from the template and start with a blank document. Otherwise, simply select the dummy text and type over
it to create your document.
Paragraph and Character Styles
The template for manuscripts has predefined paragraph
and character styles (see table 1) that correspond to those in
the templates created for final production in page layout software. Your use of the predefined styles is the key to creating
a consistently formatted manuscript file that will be easy to
prepare for commercial printing or for the Web.
Use the paragraph styles consistently throughout the
manuscript file in lieu of “local” formatting. A paragraph
style is predefined for each report element, and paragraph and
character style names are logically named to correspond to
the different page elements. It is a best practice to use only
the styles that are built into the template and not to introduce
new styles. See table 1 for a complete list of paragraph and
character styles and how you should use them when you create
a manuscript.
To apply a paragraph style:
1. Click to insert the text curser anywhere in the paragraph
you wish to style.
2. In the MS Word navigation ribbon, go to Home->Styles
and click on the appropriate named paragraph style for the
target paragraph.
To apply a character style:
1. Select the text range you wish to style.
2. In the MS Word navigation ribbon, go to Home->Styles
and click on the appropriate named character style for the
selected text.
2 Preparing Series Information Product Manuscripts With the Manuscript Template (V 3.5.1.3)
Illustrations
6. In the ‘Categories’ list, choose ‘Numbering.’
Do not import illustrations into the manuscript file. Each
illustration should be in a separate file so that it can be easily
processed during layout production. For review, provide the
illustrations as separate files or combine them into a multipage PDF file. Position figure captions in the manuscript following the first reference to the figure in the text.
You may import illustrations into a manuscript for an
Open-File Report (OFR) after scientific peer reviews and your
responses to them are complete. Illustrations in OFRs may be
placed in the body of the report near the illustration reference
or they may be grouped at the end of the document.
7. In the ‘Field Names’ list, choose ‘Seq.’ The letters ‘SEQ’
should appear in the ‘Field Codes’ box at the bottom of
the dialog box.
To autonumber and apply style to a figure
caption or table title
Select the caption or title text and apply the appropriate paragraph style (either FigureCaption or TableTitle).
Numbered Equations
Display equations (those set apart from the text) should
be numbered and should be created using an equation editor. Either MS Word’s built-in equation editor or the Design
Science MathType™ equation editor will work. Equations
set with the equation editor should include any variable explanations that follow the equation. To learn more
about MathType visit http://water.usgs.gov/usgs/publishing/
Production/mathtype.html.
To insert a numbered equation:
1. Click to create an insertion point in the text where you
want the equation to appear.
2. Press Tab to advance to the first (centered) tab stop, and
insert your equation. (Note to MS Word 2007 users: If
you are NOT using MathType for equations in Office
2007, then you should use the built-in Microsoft Equation
3.0 equation editor. This can be accessed from the “Insert”
ribbon in MS Word 2007 by selecting “Insert object” and
choosing “Microsoft Equation 3.0.”)
3. Press Tab to advance to the second (right-justified) tab
stop.
4. Type the left parenthesis that you want to appear around
the equation number.
5. In the navigation ribbon choose Insert->Quick Parts
>Field. Word displays the Field dialog box.
8. Click on the ‘Field Codes’ box and make sure the insertion pointer appears at the end of the field (after the ‘SEQ’
sequence).
9. Type ‘Equation’ (without the quotation marks).
10. Click on OK. A number appears in your document at the
right of your parenthesis.
11. Type the right parenthesis to finish out the equation
number.
Inline Equations
Inline equations are equations that are set “inline” with
text. These are usually brief and contain only simple math
operators in combination with symbols, superscripts, and
subscripts. The following is an example of an inline equation:
a2 + b2 = c2. Equations that are inline with the body text should
be typeset using the default font, Times New Roman, not the
Symbol font. The following character styles should be used
when appropriate when creating inline equations:
Emphasis
EmphasisStrong
SubEmphasis
SuperEmphasis
Subscript
Superscript
Special Characters for Science and Math
Insert special characters, such as Greek and math symbols, into the document by using the Insert>Symbol menu in
Microsoft Word. Avoid using the Symbol font because this
font varies between computers and does not support italics in
page layout applications. Special characters that are unavailable in Times New Roman may be inserted in the manuscript
as inline equations using an equation editor, such as the default
Word equation editor or MathType.
Using the Manuscript Template 3
Tables
Construct tables in MS Excel or in MS Word by using
the table function. Do not create tables by using a series of
tabs or spaces. Tabbed or spaced tables will have to be rebuilt,
thus adding time to final layout production and introducing the
potential for error. Such tables also are not Section-508 compliant. Include Excel tables with the manuscript for review.
Table of Contents
The manuscript template contains a sample table of
contents that may be updated after you’ve completed the
manuscript content. If the original table of contents was
deleted, then you can insert a new one at any time. If you
use paragraph styles consistently throughout the manuscript
file, then you can generate a table of contents using the
Insert>Reference>Index and Tables...command.
To update an existing table of contents:
1. Click anywhere within the text of the existing table of
contents.
Lists of Figures and Tables
The manuscript template contains sample lists of tables
and figures. These samples should be deleted prior to generating your own lists.
To insert a new list of tables or figures:
1. Click to create an insertion point in the text where you
want the list to appear.
2. In the navigation ribbon choose References->Insert table
of figures. Word displays the ‘Table of Figures’ dialog
box.
3. From the General->Caption label drop-down list choose
‘Figure’ or ‘Table’ as appropriate.
4. In the lower right of the ‘Table and Figures’ dialog box,
select ‘Options.’
5. Put a check in the ‘Style’ checkbox and
choose ‘FigureCaption’ or TableTitle’ as the style on
which to base the list, as appropriate (see below).
2. Right-click and choose ‘Update field’ from the contextual menu. Word displays the ‘Update Table of Contents’
dialog box.
3. Choose to update the page numbers only or to update the
entire text of the table of contents as appropriate.
To insert a table of contents:
1. Click to create an insertion point in the text where you
want the table of contents to appear.
2. In the navigation ribbon choose References->Table of
contents->Insert table of contents. Word displays the
‘Table of Contents’ dialog box.
3. Click ‘OK.’
6. Click ‘OK.’.
7. Click ‘OK’ in the ‘Table and figures’ dialog to generate
the list.
4 Preparing Series Information Product Manuscripts With the Manuscript Template (V 3.5.1.3)
Table 1. Paragraph and character styles in the manuscript template.—Continued
[Style names in braces refer to related character styles; †, this style is not shown in the style list in the manuscript template]
Style name
Intended use
Paragraph styles
Authors
Author names for the title page and page 1.
Body Text
Text for the body of the report; paragraphs are indented.
BodyNoIndent
Body text without an indent.
BOTPOffice †
Bureau and department identifier on the back of the title page.
BOTPOfficial †
Bureau and department official name on the back of the title page.
BOTPNotes †
Various notes on the back of the title page.
BOTPNotes2 †
Additional notes on the back of the title page.
ConvFactorBody †
Text for the material that follows the conversion factor table.
DBID †
Department and bureau identification on the title page.
Equation (Numbered)
A numbered display equation in the text.
EquationWhere
The first text line of the explanation of symbols used in an equation.
EquationWhere2
The second and following text lines of the explanation of the symbols used in an equation.
FigureCaption
A figure caption {FigureNumber}.
GlossaryDefinition
A definition in the glossary {GlossaryTerm}.
Heading 1
A first-rank heading.
Heading 2
A second-rank heading.
Heading 3
A third-rank heading.
Heading 4
A fourth-rank heading.
Heading 5
A fifth-rank heading.
InfoStatement †
An additional information statement on the title page.
List Bullet
A bulleted list.
List Bullet 2
A second-rank bulleted list.
List Bullet 3
A third-rank bulleted list.
List Number
A numbered list.
List Number 2
A second-rank numbered list.
List Number 3
A third-rank numbered list.
Publisher †
The publisher line on the back of the title page.
Quotation
A quotation larger than six lines in the text.
Reference
A reference in the references section.
SecondaryIdentification
Identifier text on the title page for a secondary identification or cooperating agency.
SectionHeading
The heading for a major section (such as foreword, contents, glossary, appendix, index).
Series †
Report series name and number on the title page.
TableCellBody
Text in a table.
TableCellDecAlign
Decimal-aligned numbers in a table.
TableCellHeading
A column heading in a table.
TableFootnote
A footnote to a table.
TableHeadnote
A headnote to a table.
TableSpanner
A spanner heading in a table body.
TableTitle
A title for a table {TableNumber}.
Template Resources 5
Table 1. Paragraph and character styles in the manuscript template.—Continued
[Style names in braces refer to related character styles; †, this style is not shown in the style list in the manuscript template]
Style name
Intended use
Title
The report title on the title page and page 1.
TOC 1
A first-order table of contents entry.
TOC 2
A second-order table of contents entry.
TOC 3
A third-order table of contents entry.
TOC 4
A fourth-order table of contents entry.
TOC 5
A fifth-order table of contents entry.
TOCHeading1
A first-order heading in the table of contents.
TOCHeading2
A second-order heading in the table of contents.
TOCLists
The list of figures and tables in the table of contents.
Character styles
Emphasis
Applies italic formatting to Times New Roman text.
EmphasisUC
Applies italic formatting to Arial Narrow text.
EmphStrong
Applies bold italic formatting to Times New Roman text.
EmphasisStrongUC
Applies italic formatting to Arial Narrow Bold text.
GlossaryTerm
Applies bold formatting to a glossary term in a glossary definition.
Hyperlink
Applies italic formatting to Internet URLs.
MultipartFigCap
A highlight for the letter identifier for a multipart figure.
Run-inHead
Applies italic formatting to an unranked, run-in heading in a text paragraph.
Strong
Applies bold formatting to Times New Roman text.
Subscript
Applies a subscript to Times New Roman text.
SubEmphasis
Applies an italic subscript to Times New Roman text.
SubEmphasisUC
Applies an italic subscript to Arial Narrow text.
Superscript
Applies a superscript to Times New Roman text.
SuperEmphasis
Applies an italic superscript to Times New Roman text.
SuperEmphasisUC
Applies an italic superscript to Arial Narrow text.
Fonts
Template Resources
The manuscript template uses the default fonts Times
New Roman and Arial Narrow, found on most Windows and
Macintosh system. As of the release of version 3.0 of the
manuscript template, the Univers Condensed fonts are not
used in the manuscript template.
Download the manuscript template from:
http://internal.usgs.gov/visual/manuscripts/index.html
Help with templates and suggestions for template
development:
Send e-mail to “GS Book and Fact Sheet Template Team”
Additional online resource for using the template:
http://internal.usgs.gov/publishing/toolboxes/author.html
Learn more about the Design Science MathType equation
editor at:
http://www.dessci.com/en/